Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 118, May 2019 | Page 30

means around R20,000 more spent on water. Of course, unless covered by the event sponsorship some of that will need to be built into the entry fee. That said there is also a need to educate these new runners on all aspects of running, including that they will not die of dehydration. So if there is a shortage on sachets at a table, don’t take more; rather take one less sachet and assist the runners behind. If everyone works together, the standard of organisation in all our events will continue to be world class. want to do well, the finish is more important than a particular performance. Thus in the Comrades, for example, a finish and then a return for the back-to- back medal is the bucket list goal, before moving on to the next challenge. Today, completing the challenge with least discomfort and disruption to normal lifestyle is as important as performance was to the runners of the 1980s. Minimal training for comfortable running is the order of the day, and it is seen in the large size and number of training groups for and buses in major events. This new influx of runners often run within their comfort zone, whereas their 1980s peers were focused on being as fast as possible, and it shows in last year’s Two Oceans finishing rates: 53% of the 9200 plus finishers were happy to earn a Blue medal for finishing in between six and seven hours, whereas two decades ago a Blue was seen as the ‘compensation’ medal for missing out on a Bronze! Need to Adapt Thinking The sudden increase in numbers of entries has caught many by surprise, especially with an extra 25% of runners towards the back of the field, many in search of Two Oceans and Comrades qualification, but at their own pace. Returning to the basics of organisation, the previous 2.8 to 3 sachets per runner is, in my opinion, no longer valid. The move must now be made to around 3.5 or even 3.8 sachets per runner per table. In real terms, in a marathon with a field of 5000 runners, it means an extra 56,000 sachets, which A Different Approach Running and energy expenditure generates heat, and the heat dispensation is not as easy for the bigger bodies, which means they will tend to use more water sachets to cool off, particularly in adverse conditions or after long climbs or tough sections. The point is that with Comrades having accepted an extra 25% entries this year, the growth has not come from the so-called ‘racing snakes,’ but from those who simply want to earn the title of being a Comrades runner. This, combined with the hotter summer, has probably been 90% responsible for various races running out of water, and interestingly, in most cases the race tables have not run out of Coke or other drinks, a sure sign it was not dehydration, but cooling, that was the primary desire for water. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Norrie has represented Scotland, Great Britain and South Africa in ultra-distance running and triathlon, and he is an IAAF-accredited coach and course measurer. You can read more from him at www.coachnorrie.co.za. 30 ISSUE 118 MAY 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za This does not make the modern attitude wrong, it just makes it different. However, it has opened the sport to a completely new market of body shapes, whose efforts in running often require greater effort for the same speed (weight to strength ratio). In general, these runners will be out on the road longer, and all of this makes their effort greater than the smaller runner doing the same time.